


10 Things I Hate About You

by duderanch



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: 10 things I hate about you with a twist, 90s teen movie antics, Drug Use, F/M, Friendship, High School AU, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Love at First Sight, M/M, alcohol mention, but not really, dennis is the shrew surprise surprise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-06 03:24:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10324541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duderanch/pseuds/duderanch
Summary: Based on Shakespeare's classic '10 Things I Hate About You.' - The story centers around a young Charlie Kelly who is determined to woo the newly freed from her back brace, Dee Reynolds. Theres just one problem, she cant date until her twin brother Dennis, commonly refered to as 'the shrew', starts dating. Is there any hope for our hero or is the answer to his problems hiding just under the bleachers?





	1. Introduction

Starting at a new school was never gonna be easy but considering this is the third school in a year Charlie had started at he had got it down to a science at this point. He had a simple and easy to remember method for survival; befriend the school drug dealer and ride it out until his teachers realised he was illiterate and eventually got him kicked out for one reason or another. It had worked at the previous two schools, there was no reason it wouldn't this time around. 

Right at that particular moment Charlie was walking along side some guy who had been assigned to showing him around, not really listening as he pointed out the different cliques and how none of them would talk to them because they were both clearly losers. He didn't like being lumped in as one of him; sure he was a loser but he wasn't this guys brand of loser. This guy was going to Yale, Law student in the making kind of loser, Charlie was a smoking pot under the bleachers brand. 

"So- you got any questions?"

"Yeah, yeah I do actually. Er... where can I get some chronic around here?"

"Some what?"

"Chronic? Grass?"

The guy continued to look at him like he was speaking another language so he just cut to the chase.

"Weed, dude. Where can I find the drug dealer?"

"/Oh/. You want- you know that stuff's really bad for you. Studies have shown-"

"Yeah, I don't care about that, dude. Where can I find the guy?"

"Oh, um, I think Ronnie's the main guy around here now. Ronnie the Rat."

"Ronnie the Rat?"

"Yeah, he usually hangs out under the bleachers-"

"Alright, sweet. Thanks man."

Just as Charlie was about to leave to find this 'Ronnie the Rat' dude he was stopped by a blonde haired girl knocking into him. She was taller than him and so pretty that he stopped dead in his tracks, staring open mouthed as she turned around.

"Watch where you're walking boner. Jeez."

With that she was gone, followed shortly by some fat chick with red hair but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the girl in wonderment.

"/Who/ was that?"

"You shouldn't even think about who that is. A month ago maybe you could but not now."

"I burn, I pine, I perish."

"Of course you do. Thats Dee Reynolds, formally known as the Aluminium Monster and even with the horrific back brace you didn't stand a chance." 

"Wait- back brace?"

"She got it off about a month ago and since then even Adriano's been interested. Trust me, you don't stand a chance."

Charlie had never got all that hung up on girls he had just seen once but this girl was different. She was beautiful to start with, tall and blonde with amazing blue eyes, no where near a so called monster. So far all he had was a name to go off but Charlie knew he had to find her again somehow. 

'Maybe this Ronnie the Rat kid will know something.'

"Okay, well, thanks for the help Micky-"

"Its Michael."

"But I'm gonna go try and find Ronnie or whatever. Cya."

He had no idea where the bleachers were in this school so he just headed towards the first exit he could find, pushing through and following a trail of jocks towards the football field. Hopefully this Ronnie kid was gonna be more help than goddamn Michael.


	2. The Shrew Enters

At the start of senior year Dennis had signed himself up to a new program of not giving a shit what people thought of him. By March it had been going exceptionally well and with his newfound interest in new wave music and little known queer poets he had successfully pushed away all the riff raft that had been dragging Dennis Reynolds down. Well, all except Maureen Ponderosa but everyone needed at least one friend. 

It had only taken a grand total of an hour before he had been sent to the principals office that morning, brushing past the ever familiar face of Ronnie the Rat on his way. The kid seemed like he was everywhere, often walking in and then out of their English class when he realised Dennis was on a rant again or there was homework due, and despite having said no more than two words to the guy he knew he didn't want anything to do with him. He was bad news and he always smelt like weed and Dennis was pretty sure he was a homophobic asshole as well. That much couldn't be forgiven. 

"Good morning Dennis, who did you assault this time?"

"No one in particular, I've been sent here due to a disagreement on Whitman."

He didn't even sit down at the principals desk, if he knew her as well as he thought he did she wouldn't want anyone distracting away from her erotic novel writing this morning. Dennis was certain it was garbage, he could write a better erotic novel with his eyes closed. 

"And what was the disagreement about?"

"I thought my critical analysis on the homoeroticism of his work was worth an A and he thought it was only worth a B."

"And I'm guessing you argued back with your usual shrew like tendency?"

"I called him a few choice words if thats what you're asking." 

She looked up from her computer screen, pursing her lips. More than anything she just wanted him out of her office before he called /her/ a few choice words so punishment was likely not applicable here. Instead of writing a detention slip she just rubbed her forehead, gesturing for him to leave. 

"Don't do it again, okay? Now shoo." 

"Gladly."

Dennis decided not to go back to class after that, it was almost lunch break anyway, so he headed towards his and Maureen's regular meeting place on the quad. He had been only half way there before a group lead by Adriano stalked around the corner, setting their sights on Dennis immediately.

"Hey- hey fag, hows Dorothy today?"

"Fuck off asshole."

In traditional Adriano fashion he blocked the way for Dennis to get past, leaning against the locker cockily. Dennis could deal with the insults, he had been dealing with them since junior year, what he couldn't deal with was a physical confrontation. For all his talk Dennis was not good in a fight. 

"Sorry, didn't hear that there. Could you speak up a little bit, faggot."

"Oh /wow/ Adriano. If you're gonna taunt me with that the least you could do is think up some original. Be creative with your homophobia."

It had to be cleared up though that Dennis wasn't actually gay. He had been curious, then questioning and after an experiment backfired in the worst possible way he was certain. Not gay. Not entirely anyway. 

Telling these assholes that, however, didn't seem like something that worked in any capacity. 

"You got a real nerve talking to me like that Reynolds. I would kick your ass but then again, you'd probably get off on that wouldn't you?"

Thankfully at that moment the school bell rang and students started pouring out of their classrooms, giving Dennis the opportunity to shove past. He did make sure to smash his elbow into Ted Belman's stomach on the way past, causing him to keel over. 

"Why don't you just crawl back from the hole you came from Adriano and leave me the fuck alone."


	3. Ronnie The Rat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got a ton of school work on at the moment so updates are gonna be slow. yeah, sorry.

Charlie didn't know what to expect when he climbed under the bleachers that lunch time and to be honest he was a little afraid. He was trying to find some kid called Ronnie the /Rat/ after all, fuck knows how he got that name. Maybe he looked like a rat? That would be the simplest explanation. 

If Michael hadn't been talking complete shit then this Ronnie guy should've been around here somewhere and after a few minutes walking around Charlie had managed to find someone he assumed was him. He was a little shocked however; this guy looked nothing like a rat. Sure he was a bit scrawny and the dirty, oversize leather jacket he was wearing wasn't doing much for him but he wasn't particularly ugly or untrustworthy looking. 

"What do you want?" 

"You Ronnie the Rat? Heard I could get some chronic from you."

Ronnie rolled his eyes and stood up, searching through his backpack with a cigarette balanced in his mouth. A moment later he was pulling out a small baggie, holding it tight in his fist. Charlie took that as a clue that he needed to pay him so he searched around for his wallet, offering up his last ten dollars. After the exchange Ronnie looked like he had something to say and Charlie didn't want to leave yet. The idea was to befriend the school drug dealer, not just buy from him.

"Hey is it alright if I smoke here?"

"Do whatever you want bro. I don't give a shit."

Charlie watched him sit back down, pulling out another cigarette and lighting up. He then followed suit, sitting down to roll for himself. Now Charlie wasn't the best at rolling, in fact he was pretty bad, and he could /feel/ the guys eyes on him. 

"You need some help there bro?"

"I'm fine, I've got it."

"Have you really, cause it looks like you're making a real mess of that."

"Alright, you do it if you're so good."

He handed back the baggie and watched as the other kid moved closer and hastily started sticking papers together. Clearly the guy had some experience rolling joints, he kinda had to selling weed and all that, and in a matter of minutes he had rolled an almost perfect spliff. Charlie was impressed, right up till the moment he started trying to light it.

"Hey, Ronnie, give it back. Come on bro."

"Ever heard of rollers rights? Also don't call me that, no one calls me that."

"I dunno man, everyone I've met has called you that."

"Well its not my name, my names Mac, okay?"

Mac finally got it lit, taking a few drags before passing everything back to Charlie. He didn't understand why people would call him Ronnie if his name was supposably Mac but he decided not to question it. 

"So what, you new or somethin'?"

"Yeah, first day."

"And you're already spending it smoking pot under the bleachers. Nice."

"Its what I did at my old schools, don't see no difference between here and there." 

Mac shrugged and started rolling himself a joint, obviously giving up on trying to steal Charlie's. It wasn't exactly a good business idea to steal from your customers anyway.

"Don't you worry about getting caught though bro? You don't wanna get kicked out on your first day."

"Have you been caught yet?" 

Mac shrugged again, obviously seeing Charlie's point and finished up rolling his own one before lighting up. Charlie was glad the guy wasn't as inhospitable as the last drug dealer he had tried to befriend, that guy had caught onto his game straight away and told him where to go. He was lucky he guessed considering he was gonna try and get information out of him soon. 

"So er, Mac, do you know anything about a Dee Reynolds?"

Mac scoffed. "What old Aluminium Monster? Yeah I know her, we had bio together last year. Why?"

"I was just wondering if she had a boyfriend or anything is all."

Then Mac's scoff turned into a full blown laugh, horsely blowing out smoke as he tried to regain his breath. 

"Shit dude, you do /not/ wanna go there. Even if she was allowed to date you got no chance. Shes a total bitch anyway."

"Come on, shes not a bitch."

"Have you /spoken/ to her at all dude? Shes a bitch, trust me."

"Well whats with this no dating rule then? Someone else earlier mentioned it as well."

"Bro, its well known that she cant start dating until her brother starts dating. And thats never gonna happen so theres no point wasting your time."

"I don't /understand/ though bro. Why wont he start dating?"

"Because he's an /asshole/- and a total queer as well. Nah, you got no chance." 

That took Charlie by surprise slightly. He wouldn't of thought that anyone in a school like this would be gay and open about it. Not that he had a problem with it, he didn't give a shit if someone was gay. 

"How- how do you know he's gay then?"

"There was a rumour that he banged some senior guy last year. Football player apparently. From what I've heard Adriano walked in on him sucking the guy off in the locker rooms and told everyone about it. Since then he's just been a total dick to everyone. Serves him right though- if you're gonna be a fag at least keep it to yourself." 

Charlie stomped out the end of his spliff then, standing up. He had got all he could out of Mac for the time being and he was pretty sure he was gonna have to go to class now anyway. Besides, now he had the information he could think of a scheme to try and get the girl anyway. All he had to do was find someone willing to date Dennis.

'And maybe talk to this chick for once. Maybe she needs tutoring or something. You could learn to read.'

"Alright, well, thanks man- for the pot. I- I gotta get to class though."

"Hmm? Oh, alright man. I'll see ya around." 

The first step of his plan was simple: find Dee, somehow convince her to like him and then work out this whole brother situation later. Simple enough, right?


	4. The Set Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im starting to realise how long this is actually gonna take so like bare with this alright

After a week or two of planning Charlie was finally sitting in the library waiting for Dee Reynolds to show. It had been a simple plan, although he had needed help for certain parts of it, and it had worked. All he had to do was talk to as many people as possible until he found out that Dee was struggling with English, make a flyer (or at least get Mac to make him a flyer) offering free English tutoring and post it in a place he knew she'd see it. When he had got the call from her asking for the tutoring he was in the clear, despite one key factor. 

Charlie couldn't read. 

For the whole of morning periods that day his Walkman contained a learning tape on conjunctive verbs and he had managed to 'write' down enough to get him through. As long as she didn't look at the symbols and drawing on his notepad he'd be in the clear.

"Okay, lets make this quick. Bill Ponderosa and his girlfriend are having a very public breakup on the quad and I'm missing it."

Charlie found himself, suddenly, speechless. There she was, with her blonde hair and good smell. He wondered if she was wearing deodorant, he was pretty sure he had sweat through his. Was he even wearing any?

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

"Huh, oh, yeah. Um, I was thinking we should start with /verbs/."

'Verbs, verbs, what are verbs again?' 

"...Right." 

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, hesitating slightly in putting her books on the table. The guy looked insane; sweaty, kinda nervous? He smelt like cheese as well, gross.

"So, so alright, a verb is like a /doing word/ right? So like if I said 'I ask you out on a date' that would be wrong. Right? But if I said I'm /asking/ you out on a date, that would be a verb." 

"I'm not really sure... wait, are you asking me out? /What the shit/... whats your name again?"

Dee pushed herself back, swinging on her seat while smiling awkwardly. Shit- now she was nervous.

"Charlie. And yeah, I mean, in a school way as in. I know... I heard your dad doesn't let you date..."

"Until my brother does, I know. And I /totally/ would go out with you but if you know my brother you know he's a special breed of asshole." 

By this point Charlie did know what a special breed of asshole Dennis Reynolds was. Turned out he had Chemistry with him and the least the guy had done was try and set Philip Petruchio on fire with a bunsen burner. He didn't know if the guy had it coming or not but from how Dennis argued it it seemed that way. 

"Yeah I've come in contact with him. Look but, alright I have an idea. What if we- or I- could convince someone to date him. Like, extreme dating or something? That way he goes out and then we can go out."

Dee raised an eyebrow. "You think you could find someone that extreme?"

It would be a good idea and not just so she could go out with this guy. She would probably do it out of pity at this point but her real goal in all this was Adriano. He had /finally/ started paying her some attention since she got her back brace off and if that wasn't good news then what was? Of course, Dennis had warned her away from Adriano, just saying he was bad news but never explaining why. It was probably cause of the rumour but Dee couldn't blame Adriano for that.

"Hell yeah! I mean- sure, I could look into it."

"Alright, you do that. You're probably gonna find it hard to find a girl willing to date him so start looking at guys."

"Wait, he likes chicks? I thought he was gay."

"Oh no, he's like half gay or something. I don't really care, he can fuck whoever he wants to fuck. Probably just as long as he doesn't do it in Adriano's bathroom again." 

"Bathroom? I thought it was in the locker rooms."

"No way dude, it was in his bathroom during a party. Anyway, doesn't matter, who do you think is extreme enough to date my brother?" 

Charlie didn't know a lot of things, including where Dennis was supposed to have banged this mystery guy (not that it matter) but he did know who was gonna try and get to date him. 

"I know a guy. Don't worry."

-

"No. Goddamn. Way, dude. Not a chance."

Well, that was a quicker rejection than Charlie had been expecting.

"Come on Mac. Just one date. You don't have to bang him or anything."

"I don't have to- I don't have to do shit Charlie, I am not dating him so you can bone his sister."

As if to try and dramatically storm off Mac climbed out from under the bleachers, stopping to light up another cigarette before stalking away. Charlie ran to catch up, standing in front of him with his hands up. 

"Its not like that. I'm not saying take him on a romantic getaway, take him to White Castle for all I give a crap. Just as long as he and his dad thinks its a date I can take Dee out."

"Dude, I really don't understand why you're so hung up on this chick. She literally looks like an a plucked ostrich." 

Mac rubbed his eyes vigorously, taking another drag and blowing the smoke directly in Charlie's face. They had actually hung out quite a lot over the past two weeks which had been great until this whole thing came up. He was not gonna date Dennis Reynolds and get labelled as a fag as well. It wasn't happening. 

"What about if I paid you?"

"You have no money, definitely not enough for that."

"What if..." Then the idea popped into his head, a real lightbulb moment. "I got someone /else/ to pay you. Someone with cash to blow."

"Why would someone pay me so you could go out on a date?"

"Well thats the thing, Mac. They think they're paying for them to go out with her but in fact they're doing it for me. Unknowingly. And you cant know either, alright, I'll see ya."

"Charlie- Charlie what the fuck are you talking about?"

-

"Who the fuck are you?"

It hadn't taken long for Charlie to find Adriano and his gang but had taken a while to find the nerve to go up to him. The guy was intimidating, although incredibly cool. 

"Uh, Charlie. Charlie Kelly. I have a- a proposition for you."

"Big words there, Kelly. You know what it means?"

"I'm- thats not why I'm here. You wanna date Dee Reynolds, right?"

"I wouldn't say /date/ but sure, whatever."

Charlie scratched the back of neck, really wishing he had some cheese to calm him down. 

"Well what if I told you there was a way to do just that."

He looked suspicious as he leant forward in his seat. 

"Yeah? Whats in it for you?"

"I'm new here and your opinion holds a lot of weight..."

"You're cool by association, alright. Tell me how I'm gonna get Dee Reynolds then."

"Its simple bro, all you gotta do is pay Ronnie the Rat to take her brother out. The guy will do anything for the right amount of money." 

Adriano looked at him, confused then considering, before nodding in agreement. Pay Ronnie the Rat to date Dennis Reynolds, it was genius. How did he not think of this before?

"Alright... I'll consider it. Thanks /bro/, now get out of here."


	5. We're Screwed

It was lunch break the next day when Adriano approach Mac about his incredible idea. It was a day where Mac was sitting on the quad like everyone else, chain smoking unlike everyone else, with Charlie sitting by his side eating his lunch. Charlie tried to not get excited when he came over. 

"Hey Ronnie. I got a little proposition for you."

Mac's eyes flicked quickly at Charlie and then at Adriano. There was no way he had actually... was Adriano supposed to be his backer in all this? The guy was kinda dumb he guessed. 

"Okay?"

"Okay? Yeah, I want you to take Dennis Reynolds out on a date."

He pointed behind Mac, making him turn around to look at Dennis and some chick on one of the benches. Even from far away he looked angry. 

"Sure thing sparky. Let me get right on that." 

"I cant take his sister out until he starts dating. Their dad has this messed up rule-"

"Touching story, not my problem."

"I can make it your problem, plus its not like that queer's gonna be going out with any girls anytime soon /so/-"

"Thats where I come in? Hate to break it to ya buddy but I'm not gay." 

Even Charlie, who'd only known Mac for the past two weeks, didn't fully believe that. 

"You don't have to be gay cause I'm gonna pay you. Twenty bucks to take Dennis out."

"Oh you're gonna have to go a little higher than that Calvanese. For all the trouble I'd have to go through."

"Fine, thirty. And I'll make sure no one gets at you for doing this."

Now Mac didn't want to do this full stop, even if he knew he was actually doing it for Charlie. What if Dennis thought it was an actual thing and tried it on with him? He wasn't going to burn in hell forever just for thirty bucks. He stood up, lighting yet another cigarette, and walked around Adriano slowly. He was taller than him, and more muscular, so if Mac was trying to seem intimidating it wasn't working.

"Okay, say we go to the movies- thats forty bucks right there. And then he wants popcorn- thats fifty. And then I'd say... thirty just for my trouble so, eighty dollars in all."

"This is not a negotiation /Ronald/- take it or leave it."

"Sixty and you got a deal."

"Deal." 

With that he forked over sixty bucks and walked back to his table, nodding at Mac to go and get on with it. Great, he had to do it here and now. He glared at Charlie one last time, stuffing the money in his back pocket before walking over to where Dennis was sitting. As he approached, by some miracle, the girl he had been sitting with was getting up and walking away; Mac stuffing his hands in his pockets before standing in front of him. 

Dennis looked up. "Can I help you?"

"You busy Friday?"

"Enormously. And no, I don't want to buy any pot so you can just go now. Thanks."

Mac rolled his eyes, sighing. He had no clue what he was doing here, how the hell do you even ask a guy out? Was it the same as asking a girl out? He didn't have much experience with that either but he'd seen movies. 

"I'm not- What about Saturday?"

"What are you trying to sell me, asshole? Whatever it is- I don't want it."

Dennis stood up, stuffing what looked like an algebra text book into his bag before walking away. Mac walked along beside him. 

"I'm not trying to sell you anything. I'm trying to ask you out."

A dead stop. Dennis turning to look at him like he had grown three head. 

"Oh yeah? Good for you, pal. Have fun with that."

"Is that a yes then?"

"No its a 'get the fuck out of my face before I shove that cigarette of yours down your throat.' Got the picture?"

As much as he would love to walk away now both Charlie and Adriano were watching so he jogged to catch up with him again, walking backwards in front of him. 

"I don't see why not bro. I can take you places you've never been before."

"What like the Seven Eleven on 5th? Sorry but I'm gonna have to pass up on the refillable slushie thanks." 

Dennis then shoved past Mac and back into the building, leaving him standing there like an idiot. Was that it then? Was it over? Or was he gonna have to keep trying? One look from both Charlie and Adriano separately told him it was the former. 

"What the hell was that bro?"

"Oh I'm /sorry/ Charlie. Did you expect him to say yes right away? Jeez..." 

Mac stood there, hand on hip and the other rubbing his forehead.

"Well you gotta try harder."

"I don't gotta do shit for you bro. Unless you weren't listening Adriano is the one paying me so he go out with Dee. You're not providing shit."

"Who do you think told him to Mac? Huh?"

"Well I know /that/. You're not bringing anything else to the table though, bro."

Charlie thought about that for a moment. Sure, he was right, but that didn't- Shit, he was gonna have to do more than just this. 

"What if... I can probably find out what kinda things he's into? You know, get to know him for you."

"How you gonna do that?"

"I tutor Dee every Tuesday and Thursday. I can find out from her."

"You tutor? Dude last I checked you cant read."

"Yeah but you know, its whatever bro."

"Its not- fine, whatever. Just find out what kinda shit he likes. I gotta go."


	6. Thursday

Charlie had explained he new state of thing during his and Dee's study session the following day. She already knew half the story, Dennis had come home the day before ranting about the audacity of that 'ratty kid with the dumb leather jacket' and assumed the worst. She had tried to defend Mac, as Charlie liked to call him, even making a point of mentioning his more attractive features.

"You cant say that Dennis, he's kinda cute for someone from South side. Nice ass as well." 

"Oh you think he's cute huh? Well if you like him so much you go out with him."

"Even if I could, which I /cant/, don't you think him asking /you/ means he's not gonna be interested? Come on, give him a chance, for me?"

"For you? Why would I subject myself to that for you? You bitch."

Charlie just nodded as she recounted the conversation. 

"Sounds rough. Fuck- what are we gonna do?"

He hit his head against the table, Dee patting his shoulder only half mockingly. Despite the fact she was technically 'using him' she had grown fond of the kid. It was pretty sweet he was willing to do all this just for her. It wasn't something she was used to. 

"You just gotta tell him to keep trying."

"Maybe if he knew what kind of things he was into he could work on it more. Or- or if there was some kind of event that could be used as a date?"

"Well I can tell you what he's into, easily. And event wise..." 

She thought for a moment before it dawn on her, slapping Charlie's shoulders to make him sit up.

"Ow! That-"

"This guy, Matthew Mara, from my physio class. He's having a party next Saturday. I bet we could make some flyers, get the whole school to come..."

"And then Mac can ask Dennis to go with him. And then you can go with me-"

"Yeah, well, car share maybe..."

"And it'll all be sorted! Goddamn Dee, you're a genius!" 

She couldn't help but smile at that. It wasn't everyday she was called a genius by someone, she had to remind herself it was cause he liked her. Thats the only reason he was being so nice. 

"Shut up. Come on, lets make flyers."

-

Dee had made flyers, Charlie had made copies. He had told her that he had sprained her wrist and that was why he couldn't do any writing, not because he didn't know what the flyer even said. Something to do with beer maybe? He wasn't sure. 

"If high schoolers want anything its free beer and readily available drugs. Don't you think Charlie?"

"Yeah totally. So what, are we gonna hand these out?"

They were standing at the top of the main staircase at school, during a class break. Dee simply grinned. 

"I have a better idea." 

She gave a handful of 'free beer next Saturday' flyers to Charlie and in unison threw them up in the air, watching as people grabbed them on their descent. If that and word of mouth didn't do it, nothing will. 

-

"We're gonna have to be quick about this, I dunno what time Dennis usually gets back on Thursdays." 

At current Dee was rummaging through her brothers desk drawers while Charlie took mental notes of the posters on his walls. It was all basic stuff; band posters, magazine clippings, the odd family photograph. Charlie was just admiring how his taste could range from Naomi Campbell to Leonardo DiCaprio but that was the nature of what it was. He had to give it to him, at least he was keeping his options open. 

"Alright... heres a list of bands. Its random shit really. And he's going to some kind of bar for a gig tomorrow after school so send your guy there to try it on. Charlie? You listening?"

"Leonardo DiCaprio huh?"

"Who can blame him, he's a pretty guy."

"So your brother likes pretty guys? Oh yeah, the list. Thanks." 

He took the paper from her, not bothering to fake read it and shoved it in his pocket. 

"Is there anything else we should look at?"

She shrugged and started rooting around in Dennis' underwear drawer, eventually pulling out a strip of condoms with an open mouth. It wasn't shock as much as it was pleasant surprise. 

"Charlie. You know what this means right?"

"...No?"

"It means he wants to get laid at some point in-" She checked the use-by date. "the next year and a half. Thats good, it means theres a chance." 

He nodded and moments later was being dragged out of Dennis' room, Dee saying something about him nearly being home. Maybe he wouldn't mention the condom thing to Mac, just to avoid another freak out.

-

"Alright bro, just finished recon."

Charlie had been to Mac's house only once before but he could never quite get used to how smokey it was all the time. It was clearly down to the cigarette Mac called mom in the living room but the ever present smell of weed told him that she wasn't totally to blame for it. Charlie didn't care, he kinda liked dark or strongly smelling places. It was kinda his thing. 

"What did ya find out on him then?"

Mac patted for Charlie to sit down opposite him on his bed, looking down to relight the spliff he had been working on. Charlie took the hit, sitting down with his back to the wall and looking around. He really didn't see how Mac could say he wasn't gay, it was a well known fact among teenagers that your bedroom walls was representative of your wank bank and Mac's walls were /covered/ in pictures of muscular men. There wasn't a woman in sight. 

Still, he wasn't gonna say that. 

"I got... okay, a list of bands he listens to and he's going to some concert tomorrow at... the Con Club."

Mac grabbed the list out of his hand, scanning down the list.

"Alright...Genesis, Bryan Adams, The Cranberries... Pansy Division? Who the hell are they?"

"I think they're like a gay rock band or something..."

Mac furrowed his eyebrows, folding the paper up. 

"Okay then. Is there anything else?"

"Oh, yeah, er... he likes /pretty boys/ so we gotta make you..."

"Are you saying I'm /not/ a pretty boy?"

Mac seemed almost offended. 

"/No/, no way. You're a /very/ pretty boy. Maybe... wash your hair or something though? And ditch the jacket bro."

"Whats wrong with the jacket?"

"It swamps you, dude. You gotta show off that body if you're gonna get his attention."

He looked down at himself, pinching the front of his jacket before pulling it off and tossing it on the floor. The guy actually had pretty good arms for a 18 year old who probably barely ever worked out, freckles visible beyond where Mac had clearly cut the sleeves off. 

"There we go. Much better. He's gonna love ya."

Charlie flashed a shit eating grin and Mac rolled his eyes.

"For your sake Charlie, I hope this chick has fucking beer flavoured nipples or some shit. I really fucking do."


	7. Wooing Dennis Reynolds: An Endurance Sport

Mac was pretty certain that trying to get Dennis Reynolds to talk to him, let alone agree to go anywhere with him, was gonna end up killing him. For the first time in what was probably months he actually turned up to their English class, sitting in a space in the back row and quietly watching the argument that came shortly after.

First round had been Dennis vs Adriano, a battle that Dennis had just about won by the time he started having homophobic slurs thrown back at him.

"/God/ Adriano, you wanna call me a fag again or do you wanna try and have an original thought?"

"I don't need an original thought when it comes to this, I think fag completely sums up what you are."

"Yeah? You know, you seem to know /a lot/ about my sex life. You- you wanna tell the class /how/ you know so-"

Next round: Dennis vs Mr Morgan.

"Mr Reynolds, if you're quite done..."

"What about him? He's the one verbally abusing other stu-"

"Yeah, well, you're the one who wont shut up now so- shut up and listen."

"You savage, you idiot! How can you ignore blatant homophobic language and still go at /me/ for talking too much?! How does that make /any/-"

"Get out! Get out my class and go to the principals office."

"Gladly."

Dennis got up then, flipping Adriano off and storming out the class. This seemed like a good enough opportunity.

"Mr McDonald, /where/ are you going?"

"Bored now buddy, I'll see ya when I see ya, alright?"

The teacher just waved him off, probably not giving a shit if he stayed or left. Once Mac was out the door he jogged to catch up with Dennis who rolled his eyes when he caught up with him.

"Oh /great/, now you're here. What do you want?"

"I just wanna say, bro, impressive display in there. I liked it when you called him a savage."

"He was ignoring blatant- why am I explaining myself to you? You're just as bad as the rest of them."

Of course Dennis was referring to Mac's overtly Christian strain of homophobia, although he had never directly called Dennis or anyone else a fag. Mac didn't like being lumped in with that crowd, unsurprisingly. They were just as much a bunch of assholes as Dennis was. 

"You think you got me all figured out, don't ya?"

"No, but I know enough to know that I don't care to figure you out." 

"Well maybe you haven't figured me out but I bet you have thought about me naked, huh?"

He grinned, just a little bit, really laying it on. Dennis was not going for it, although when had he ever?

"Am I that transparent? I want you, I /need/ you, oh baby, oh baby."

Dennis rolled his eyes and continued down to the principals office, turning on him once he got to the doorway.

"Now can I go get detention without you bothering me? Thanks."

-

The rest of the school days interactions with Dennis went along the lines of a huff and 'fuck off', leading to a conversation with Adriano about his progress. It had to be added that Mac was /not/ the one to start said conversation.

"What are you doing? When I fork out sixty dollars I expect results."

"Its just taking a bit of time is all, we're aiming for the party next week, alright?"

He nodded slowly.

"Alright, you better sort this out though. I'm working on the other twin already."

He turned back to his table, slimeball grin plastered on his face, to look at Dee waving back at him. Mac couldn't help but feel a rocking in his gut- God he hoped that she wasn't being serious with this. The only reason he was doing all this was for Charlie. Well, and...

"I've just upped my price. I want another twenty bucks."

"/Why/?" 

"I have to go to some concert tonight where he's gonna be. Thats gonna be twenty in itself."

Adriano rolled his eyes before forking out another twenty dollars, handing it to Mac begrudgingly. 

"You better hope you're as smooth as you think you are, McDonald."

He couldn't help but hope that too.

-

Mac didn't know what he expected a gay club to be like, probably a pit of sin and jizz, but this was nothing like he had expected. It was /nice/, it had a good atmosphere and the people there seemed /happy/. It was a far cry from the bars he usually got into. 

He managed to spot Dennis in the crowd, he was dancing with some girl that looked a lot like the dead tooth chick from his maths class. Mac had to say he looked kinda cute like that, he looked like he was having a good time and Mac felt his heart tug a little.

'What the fuck was /that/? What the fuck?'

He turned back towards the bar when he saw Dennis coming over, walking around a couple of guys to lean up against it next to him.

"Hey pretty boy, can I buy you a drink?"

He didn't even need to look at Dennis to know he was rolling his eyes.

"What you doing here?"

"What? Cant a guy go to his local gay club to see a show? Is that not the principals this great nation was founded on?"

This place wasn't Mac's local anything and he probably shouldn't be referring to it as such. That much should've been obvious. 

"How'd you get in?"

"You're not the only one with a fake ID, dude. That tank top looks good on you by the way, very sexy-"

As the last word escaped Mac's lips the music shut off, leaving it ringing out in the momentarily silent bar. There were, of course, a few chuckles, one of which came from Dennis. Well, at least he had got him to laugh for once.

"Good work there Romeo, very smooth."

"Cant blame a guy for trying, right?"

Dennis shook his head, sipping whatever cocktail he had bought slowly while still smirking. Maybe he was drunk and that was why he was being nice to him. It seemed a potential answer. 

"You going to Rickety Crickets party then?"

"Why the hell would I go to that?"

"Well, you know, I figured if I'm going and /you're/ going it might he easier if we go together."

Dennis seemed hesitant, Mac offered another solution.

"Carpool wise it only makes sense."

"Oh so the penniless drug dealer has a car then?"

"Well, its my dads car. Kinda. He stole it."

Mac grabbed someone else's beer and drained half, ignoring the angry yell that move caused.

"/If/ we go together, and thats a /heavy if/, I'm not going in your piece of shit, stolen car. My Rover or nothing."

Well, that had some potential.

"Pick you up at nine then?"

Dennis just smirked again, grabbing his drink and walking back into the crowd. Mac, of course, followed and not just because he was obliged to. He almost felt drawn to Dennis in some weird, magnetic way. 

"Is that a yes?"

"No."

"Is that a no, then?"

"No!"

Whatever the answer supposably was, Mac was gonna hang on to that half agreement. Heres hoping that Dennis still tolerated him in a weeks time.


	8. The Party Scene

A week and a day had passed since Dennis' encounter with Ronnie the Rat at the bar and he still wasn't totally sure it had been real. He hadn't exactly agreed to go to the party with him but somehow Dee had managed to find out about the conversation and nosed her way into things, like always.

"See, if /you're/ going on a date that automatically means /I/ can go on a date. Isn't that right dad?" 

Their dad, Frank, looked up from his newspaper, glancing over at their mom in hopes of support. Of course he received none, she simple shrugged before swaying out of the room. 

"You got a date, son?"

"I wouldn't count it as such but if Dee insists on calling it that then yeah, I do."

"She got big-" 

He gestured to his chest and Dennis rolled his eyes. Of course he assumed it was a chick, it was actually almost refreshing to hear that assumption for once. 

"/Oh yeah/. Massive ones. Anyway I'm not going."

"No. No, no, no. You said you would go. You gotta go. Come on Dennis, don't ruin this for me!"

"Ruin what? A testosterone fuelled beer fest? I'll pass, thanks."

"You're not going to a party, no way."

"Why can Dennis go but I cant?"

"Cause Dennis isn't gonna get pregnant anytime soon. I know what party means in teen language- orgy."

"Its just a /party/."

"And hells just a sauna. No- you cant go unless your brother goes."

She turned on him, making her most pathetic face in the hopes to sway him. Dennis promised himself that he wouldn't be swayed, that he would never go to a party thrown by Rickety Cricket but then he remembered Mac was apparently gonna be there in five minutes. Thats if he showed and he seriously doubted he would. 

"/Please/ Dennis- just be a normal human being for one night and go to this party. Please?"

He didn't like the implication that he didn't go to parties, he went to a ton last year. Well, before the Adriano mess. 

"...Fine. We'll go."

"/Thank you/. Come on, lets go now I don't wanna miss too much."

Dennis was practically dragged to the door before Frank could say anything about all this, pausing to grab a jacket before pulling the door open to see...

"Why are you here?"

"Is that just how you greet me now? I said nine, right? I dunno, I'm probably early."

If Dennis was being real, he didn't actually think he was being serious about that. 

"Who the hell is that?"

"Mac. I'm just here for Dennis, dude."

"Right... Deandra, when I say date it doesn't mean one of Dennis' friends hanging out with him. If he hasn't got a real date then you cant have one."

Incredibly, Mac butted into that one as well. Dennis had to admit, actually, he looked kinda nice today. His hair was clean and void of that awful gel, the crappy leather jacket was long gone and the tight black t shirt he was sporting did wonders for his body. Yeah, maybe it wasn't gonna be that bad after all. 

"Nah man, real date. I forgot the flowers."

"You're taking my /son/ on a date?"

"...Uh, yeah bozo-"

"Okay! Mac, Dee- lets go. Cya later dad."

He quickly hurried Dee out and shut the door on Frank as he was about to say something, wanting to save that conversation for a later date. It was fine, he was surprised he hadn't known in all honesty. 

"You actually came."

"Course I did. I said nine, didn't I?"

They walked slowly towards Dennis' car and he couldn't help but feel a warm, bubbly feeling in his chest. Maybe he had misjudged Mac, maybe he wasn't as bad as people thought. 

"You did, yeah. How'd you get here?"

"Walked. I didn't really feel like turning up in my piece of shit car after you mentioned you have a Rover."

That wasn't strictly true; Mac had actually lent his piece of shit car to Charlie. Apparently you didn't need to be able to read to get a licence. 

"Well how're you getting back?"

"I might try and get a ride from the guy picking your sister up."

Mac pointed, Dennis whipped his head around to look.

"Is that... Charlie Kelly? Huh. Aren't you friends with him?"

"...Kinda."

"See, its weird right, I thought she was gonna go to this thing with that prick Adriano."

Mac waited until he was in the passenger seat of Dennis' car before answering.

"Not a big fan of Adriano huh?"

"/How/ could you /possibly/ tell?"

"I mean, he's a dick. That rumour he spread about you wasn't cool, man."

Dennis shuddered at the memory; God- if people actually knew what the truth was rather than Adriano's side of it. He was biding his time to spill it, waiting for the opportune moment, if you will. He wanted it to have the most impact for all the shit he had to put up with. 

He fired the ignition and rolled out the driveway.

"Mm... yeah. I always keep forgetting to thank him for that."

"If I was you I'd knock his teeth out."

It was obvious that no one knew about Mac, hell- even Dennis hadn't known about Mac. According to most he was almost infamous for sleeping with other guys girlfriends but now, it seemed, it was the other way around. In hindsight it made sense, unless he was like Dennis but he didn't think Mac was capable of being complex enough. 

"Aren't you worried people are gonna say it about you if they see you hanging out with me?"

'Not unless Adriano forgets his end of the bargain.'

"Nah, its fine. We're just two guys hanging out. Nothing gay about that."

"But it is gay right?"

That was the magic question and Mac didn't want to answer it. He rolled his eyes instead, figuring Dennis could take that as whatever he wanted. 

"You gotta turn right here to get to Crickets place."

"/I know/- I used to drive him and Dee home after physio."

"Really? Thats nice of you."

"Charge him ten bucks a ride though."

Mac chuckled and looked out the window. He didn't know why but just looking at Dennis right now was giving him butterflies. 

-

The party was actually way busier than anyone would've expected, let alone Mac. Pretty much everyone in the upper two years of school were there, plus a considerable amount of the lower years as well. Half the people he didn't even recognise even if they recognised him. 

"Hey! Ronnie! You got any pills on ya?"

"Sup man, you got a spliff I can pinch?"

Luckily Mac came prepared, although he already sensed Dennis getting annoyed /before/ he walked away. 

"Hey, Dennis, wait up."

"You seem busy enough, didn't want to wait around bro."

"Its fine- I'm all out anyway. Come on, lets find the beer."

It was like something had just turned in Dennis; he went from tolerating to hating Mac in the space of twenty minutes. 

"I don't /need/ you to find the beer, thanks. I can find it all by myself."

With that he turned and walked into the crowd, pushing past a very panicked Matthew Mara trying to make everyone use coasters. Mac tried to trail after Dennis but lost him within seconds. 

'Goddamnit.'

-

Dennis had been able to find the beer no problem and was now weaving in between people on the next floor of the house. The place was a lot bigger than he expected, lots of twists and turns which ended up being an advantage for a tipsy Adriano to launch an attack. The only difference now was it was just him and Dennis, a situation that was more dangerous then any other scenario.

"Hey babe- y-you look good tonight."

"Eat shit and die." 

"Oh /come on/- thats not what you were saying last time..."

He tried moving closer to Dennis but he shoved him away, taking a step back.

"Let me reiterate- eat shit and die."

"Wheres your sister then? I suppose she'll be just as easy as you were."

"You stay away from her- I swear to God if you go anywhere near her-"

"/Fine/, I'll stay away from her... cant guarantee she'll be able to stay away from me... I'll see ya around, Dennis." 

Dennis held his breath until he was certain Adriano was gone before running back downstairs in hopes to either find Dee or a bottle of tequila. Unfortunately or not, it was the former. 

-

Charlie had also lost Dee within minutes of getting to the party after she shouted him something about going to find her friend Ingrid Nelson or something. He had actually seen Fatty Magoo around 10 minutes after that and she claimed she hadn't seen Dee at all. Which was great- just fucking great. 

"Yo- Mac, Mac. You seen Dee around anywhere?"

"Who? What? I dunno, no. Have you seen Dennis?"

"Wait you lost your guy too? Shit dude, we're not good at this."

"Don't lump me in with you, shes your date!"

"Yeah and he's /yours/. You gotta go find him."

He patted Mac's arm and moved past him, filled with new determination. He went towards a group of people congregating around a tower of beer cans, guessing that would be a good place to start. It was there he found Dee, but with Adriano's arm around her shoulder he was anything but thrilled. 

It took a few seconds for the dots to connect in his mind but when they did...

"Oh, Charlie! Hey! There you are... I found-"

"Hey, Charlie. Hows it going man?"

Adriano winked at Charlie but he did nothing but wave them off, turning around and walking back. It made so much sense now... fuck- why had he asked Adriano to back Mac? Of all the goddamn people to choose. 

-

By the time Mac found Dennis he was dancing on a table, half empty bottle of tequila in hand. He had only been able to find him due to the crowd of people gathered round, loudly cheering him on as he bopped along to Boyz II Men, loudly trying to harmonise. 

"Wait- wait. I'm good, I can do it..."

"Dennis! Fucking hell, dude."

At that moment he started flailing his arms around above his head, holding onto the light fixture above his head and swigging on it. Mac almost couldn't bare to watch. 

"See th- thats how you sing... sing it. N-not too hard... not... not too soft. They were-"

What came next was him slipping on an ice cube and falling forward, somehow finding his way into Mac's arms. He was a lot lighter than he had expected actually. 

"Alright, thats enough Boyz for you, come on."

Mac wrapped his arm around Dennis' shoulder and despite his protests dragged him outside. As he got him sitting down on a chair without falling forward Charlie came up, looking like he had just been slapped. 

"Mac- gotta talk to you, bro."

"Little busy right now, dude."

"Can you just listen for a second?"

Rolling his eyes and making sure Dennis wasn't gonna fall, Mac stepped to the side with Charlie. Whatever was happening now it probably wasn't gonna be good.

"Deals off, bro. She didn't want me, she wanted Adriano all along."

"Well an idiot could've told you that Charlie- Jesus Christ."

Apparently Charlie hadn't known that and he was making that clear by looking someone just killed his puppy. Mac sighed, holding onto either side of his arms and huddling slightly closer.

"Are you into this chick?"

"Well yeah but-"

"No buts. Is she worth all /this/?"

"Well I thought she was but..."

"/No buts/- Charlie, you gotta just go for it, buddy. You're twenty times the man Adriano is, even you're small and smell like... is that cheese?"

"...I ate some cheese before I came here, yeah."

"Jesus Christ... look, just go for it okay? You did all this, its the least you can do." 

As he finished Dennis started falling forward again, Mac rushing to the side to catch him before he fell and pick him back up. 

"Go- do it now. Fucking hell."

-

"I don't- I don't see why... you're doing all this... bro."

"Because I don't want you to choke on your own puke and die, thats why."

After a long time convincing, arguing and then guiding Mac had managed to get Dennis back to his car, the pair sitting down on the hood. Dennis was ever so slightly more sober, almost getting a concussion woke him up just a little bit.

"You... you don't care if- if I die."

"Sure I do."

"/Why/?"

"Well because then I'd have to take out guys who actually like me."

Mac then paused to light up what Dennis assumed was a spliff, all he managed was rolling his eyes before holding his hand out expectantly. A few seconds later it was between his fingers.

"Good luck... finding any."

"See, thats what I mean. Who needs affection when you have blind hatred?"

Dennis rolled his eyes, vision slightly hazy as he took a few drags and then passed it back. He'd never admit it, because he hated Mac, but he did look cute right then. He looked cute before as well. Shit- this guy was just cute. Maybe he didn't hate him. 

"You're... stupid."

A beat. All that could be heard was the party at a distance and the sound of burning paper. It was soothing, the smell was a different story. 

"So why do you let him get to you?"

"Who?"

"Adriano. I assume thats why you started mainlining tequila."

There was no way in hell he was telling Mac. Not a chance.

"I hate him."

"You gotta learn to not listen to him."

"Thats a... a little difficult when he's talking directly to me..." 

Dennis wasn't entirely sure when everything went black but one moment he was sitting up and the next his head was in Mac's lap, Mac looking down at him with worried eyes. He could vaguely register is name being called but Dennis was concentrating too much on one particular thing. 

"You know... you got really pretty eyes. They're- they're so brown. Like... like a really good brown though."

The look of worry turned into a smirk but Dennis was sure it was short lived because a moment later he was angling his head off his car and Mac's legs and started puking his guts up. He was pretty certain that most of it had ended up on Mac's boots; he'd have to remember to apologise for that later. 

-

Dee had managed to escape Adriano at one point or another when he stopped being amazing and started being obnoxious. In hindsight, he was obnoxious all a long but she hadn't been able to see that before the 2 hours of beer pong and him licking her ear in an attempt to be sexy. It was gross more than anything, she didn't care if he was drunk. 

As she walked out of the house, looking miserable as ever, she caught sight of Charlie near his car and ran towards him. She stumbled a little on her way over, potentially breaking a heel but it didn't matter. Words couldn't describe how bad she felt about him anyway. All he had been was nice, even sorting it out so that she could go out tonight and she had used him. Dee couldn't remember what she had seen in Adriano in the first place.

"Hey..."

"Hey."

"Can I get a ride home?"

Charlie simply nodded and crossed around his car to the drivers side, Dee following suit and getting in herself. The ride home was... tense, to say the least. She knew she had to say something, thats what was expected of her but then again why should she? Sure Charlie had done all this for her but that didn't mean she owed him anything right? The only reason she should do anything was if she liked Charlie and in all honesty... she might? She also might not. It was a big if.

They pulled up in front of Dee's house but neither of them made any kind of move till Charlie turned around in his seat, looking solemn.

"If- if you like Adriano then go for it. Don't feel like you should go anywhere with me out of pity, alright?"

"No, Charlie-"

"You know, I cant actually read. I pretended to be able to so I could tutor you. Now is that weird? Maybe. Is asking around about where you eat lunch and then posting tutoring flyers around there so you would see them creepy? Maybe. But I don't-"

He was cut off, surprisingly, by Dee pressing her lips firmly against his. It wasn't a pity kiss, even if in part it was a 'shut up' kiss; Dee actually did just wanna kiss him. Yeah, sure he was dirty and smelt bad half the time but he was sweet and kinda cute and the attention he was giving her /alone/.

She pulled back away after a minute or so, smiling.

"I gotta go- I'll see you Monday though, right?"

Charlie felt like he was a million miles away, lighter than air. 

'Holy shit- it worked. It fucking-'

"Yeah... Monday. Bye..."

-

After Dennis was finished puking all over his car, the ground and Mac's shoes it was about time he took him home, sliding him into the passenger seat without any complaints. Even Dennis knew he owed him a little bit of leeway- he had just thrown up on him.

"Here- theres like water here. Drink that."

Mac passed Dennis a bottle of water from the cupholder, watching out of the corner of his eye as he practically chugged it. At least he was chugging water and not tequila anymore. 

As he drove he started rummaging around a small pile of tapes on Dennis' dashboard, sliding one in without looking at it. The sound of Africa by Toto came smoothly out of the speakers.

"Toto? Really, Mac?"

"I'm not the one that owns their tape dude. Besides, its catchy."

"Well I /guess/." 

It was quiet besides the music for the rest of the journey and as Mac pulled into Dennis' driveway he felt eyes on him. His chest felt tight, nervous but not full of dread. Just nervous energy filling his lungs up suddenly and without reason. Why on Earth should Mac be nervous. He turned to look back at Dennis, unclipping his seat belt.

"Thanks... for looking after me. I'm still sorry... about your shoes."

"Its okay man, no problem."

"I don't- I don't usually go out with guys... but you're nice... and despite it all... I'm glad I went."

It sounded like Dennis was doing an obituary and Mac very quickly realised it was for his own funeral when he leaned forward for Mac to kiss him. He couldn't do it, that was a step to far. 

"...Maybe we should do this another time."

He watched as Dennis pulled back away, eyes opened and any softness on his face harden up. Great- now he was pissed.

"Alright, fine- yep, cool. Bye then."

With that they both got out the car, Mac tossing him the keys and walking down the street until he saw Dee running out of Charlie's/ his car. Hopefully things went better for Charlie- the most fucked up part of that had actually been the fact Mac had kinda wanted to kiss Dennis. That was not something he should ever be thinking about.


	9. The Art Of Winning Him Back

"What did you do to him?"

Mac glanced up from his seat actually on the bleachers, for once, to see an angry Charlie Kelly looking back at him. It didn't take a genius to know who and what he was talking about, although he would rather forget the whole thing. His mind had been in pieces all weekend and he had no idea what to think about anymore.

"I didn't do anything to him- anyway, he was probably too drunk to remember anything."

"Yeah- doubt it."

Charlie then sat down in front of him, taking the cigarette out of his hand and ignoring his protests. 

"Why does it matter to you anyway? Last I checked you wanted out."

"Yeah, I did, but that was before she kissed me."

Both Mac and Charlie grinned.

"Where?"

"In the car."

Mac's face fell; not what he meant but sure. Speak of the devil herself, he saw Dee running over from the football field, exactly from where her brother was having his gym class. Both her and Charlie smiled at each other kinda awkwardly when she came over; Mac rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Mac. What did you do to my brother?"

"Why does- I didn't do shit and I think thats the problem. Why, did he say anything about me?"

"Yeah he said he hates you with the fire of a thousand suns. Thats a direct quote." 

".../Great/."

If Mac had known how changeable and goddamn weird Dennis was before he agreed to do this he wouldn't of agreed at all. He was confused enough as it was (you know, with the wanting to actually /kiss/ Dennis and all) and he didn't need to deal with Mr Moodswings himself as well. 

"You gotta fix this."

"How do you expect me to do that? Fuck- literally its probably not as much of a big deal as you think, he'll probably cool of in a day."

By the magic of comedic timing a soccer ball then went flying right past Mac's head, all three of them looking over at its origins. There was, predictably enough, Dennis, scowling at them all.

"...Yeah, maybe two days." 

-

Dee had informed him that Dennis' favourite place to hangout after school was some book store on 12th Street; so thats just where Mac was that afternoon, sifting through the shelves until he saw Dennis walk in. He had to admit, when Dennis wasn't screaming or throwing things at him he was pretty cute. The way his eyes flicked over book titles or how he mouthed their names to himself as he read almost had Mac forgetting why he was there. He remembered himself, walking along the other side of the shelf until he turned at the end.

"Hey, do you know if they have any Leslie Feinberg in here? I lost my copy of Stone Butch Blues."

"Why are you even here?"

Dennis shoved past him and towards the exit. Well, this wasn't going amazingly. Even so, Mac followed him through the store.

"I heard there was a poetry reading. I suppose you remember Saturday then."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Look, you were wasted, bro. What was I suppose to do?"

"I don't know, drop dead?"

"Jeez, don't get your boxers in a knot."

Dennis stopped, searching through a box of books. Mac shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Don't go around thinking you had any effect on my boxers."

"Then what did I have an effect on?"

"Other than my up chuck reflex? Not much."

He then pushed a book onto his chest, Mac looking down to see it was the book he had been asking for, and then departed quickly. The door slammed loudly behind him as he went and all he could do was stand there for a few moments.

-

The rest of the week dragged by as slowly as the next and in all that time Mac never got a chance to talk to Dennis. He had to say, the guy could hold a grudge very well, Mac didn't think he'd ever get him to talk to him again. Both Charlie and Dee had told him that he had to embarrass himself in some way, that he had to settle the score, but that was going to be if nothing else works type situation. He didn't even know what he would do.

It was the Friday morning of the second week when Adriano took it upon himself to corner Mac on his way out of English, waving two hundred bucks in front of his face.

"Whats this about then?"

"Proms coming up, I need you to take Dennis."

Mac wanted to laugh at that one; even if Dennis was talking to him there was no way he could turn up to prom with a guy as his date. They probably wouldn't even let them in.

"You're gonna have to find someone else, I'm not doing this anymore."

He went to walk away but Adriano grabbed his arm, pulling out another hundred.

"Three hundred then. Come on, McDonald, this should cover everything and then some."

"Dude, thats not the issue. I'm not going to prom with a guy."

'Plus, it doesn't feel right doing this anymore. Dennis... he doesn't deserve this.'

"If thats what you're worried about don't. No ones gonna get at you for taking him out, trust me."

Mac looked at the money, frowning, then back at Adriano. He seemed serious, he also technically had dirt on him that could be used if he didn't agree, and three hundred dollars wouldn't go a miss... 

He grabbed the money out of his hand, Adriano grinning.

"Fine. This is the last time though, alright? After this I'm done."

"Yeah, sure, now get on with it."

'He's the idiot here anyway. He doesn't even know that Dee and Charlie are technically dating now, does he?'

Mac didn't know what he was gonna do to win Dennis back but he knew he was gonna have to do something. Something big, something embarrassing.

-

'Sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity and even the score.'

If this wasn't sacrificing his dignity then Mac didn't know what was. There was, standing at the top of the bleachers, microphone in hand, waiting for Charlie to get the song playing over the speaker. A minute or so later the tune started playing and it was show time.

"You're just too good to be true. Cant take my eyes off you..."

That much was true, Mac had been staring at Dennis for the past minute waiting for him to turn around. Now he had, but so had his whole gym class as well. 

"You'd be like heaven to touch, I wanna hold you so much. At long last love has arrived and I thank God I'm alive. You're just too good to be true... can't take my eyes off you..."

He pointed at Dennis, flashing him a cheesy smile. Even from this far away he could see his ears going red. There was no going back now anyway, Mac reached his arm out and threw his head back, bellowing out the chorus.

"I love you, baby- and if its quite alright. I need you, baby, to warm the lonely nights. I love you baby, trust in me when I say..."

Out of the corner of his eye Mac could see a security guard coming to stop him so he started dancing down the seats, twirling around and doing jazz hands as he did. If people didn't assume he was gay after this Adriano was really going above board on his end of the deal. The thing was, for whatever reason, Mac didn't actually mind. He was just enjoying seeing Dennis smile like that.

"Oh pretty baby, don't bring me down. I pray oh pretty baby, now that I've found you, stay and let me /love you/, /baby/, let me love you..."

He had to stop then when he found hands on his shoulder, slipping away momentarily just to be caught again. Mac could hear laughter from the football field as he was pulled away, laughter that did come from Dennis, thankfully. He really hoped it had worked, he was not getting detention for it to not work.


	10. Break Out

Dennis knew Mac had been rocketed to detention before he could even say his name, let alone think of an explanation for that. He was still amazed that that had actually happened; that a guy who refused to kiss him apparently liked him so much that he was willing to perform his terrible rendition of a Frankie Valli classic in front of half the school. Maybe the reason he hadn't was because he'd been drunk, maybe Mac actually liked him. Why else would he go to all this trouble?

He knew what room detention was held in thanks to numerous visits this year so finding it wasn't hard. The him of last year would've been horrified by his track record but then again the him of last year had been an idiot so. 

"Mr Cameron? Hi, I wanted to talk to you about gym class. Soccer mainly."

He beelined for the front of the class where the gym teacher was standing, giving him a look. Dennis had caught sight of Mac when he came in, seeing his head perk up off the desk in surprise.

"Can this wait? I'm supervising detention right now, Reynolds."

He turned around to pick some up off his desk and Dennis quickly turned to Mac, gesturing at the window. After a few seconds he caught the gist, grabbing his bag and wait to get up. Dennis just smiled brightly when the teacher turned back around.

"It cant, I'll only be a second- wow, your bicep is /huge/."

Dennis grabbed his arm and turned his whole body away from the class, giving Mac the chance to run up behind him.

"Oh- the other ones even bigger."

He repeated the previous movement, turning him the other way with a look of surprise and allowing Mac to jog quietly behind the piece of a set. The window was on his left now, all Dennis had to do was keep him looking at him and it would be fine.

"Well thank you Dennis but I don't see-"

"I hope you don't use any kind of steroids because I heard steroids can really damage your- /package/- not that I'm thinking about your package..."

He was rapidly losing interest, turning slowly to look behind him... Dennis grabbed his face and turned it towards him. 

"Anyway, what I was saying is you should teach us that thing. For gym class."

"What thing?"

"...Misdirection? Think about it, one team is looking right but we're going left. Boom we score."

Dennis could see Mac creeping towards the window, opening it as quietly as he could. His hand slipped and the window fell back down, Mac just about catching it before it crashed. If it hadn't been for the hand holding his face the teacher would've looked around. He did try but Dennis gripped harder. 

"How do you expect to teach that then?"

"Teach it?"

"Well how are you gonna distract the other team."

Mac was half way out the window now and he was losing his focus. Dennis couldn't think, so he did the first thing that came into his head.

"Well, like this-"

He leant in quickly to kiss the teacher, eyes screwed shut as he ignored the whooping and hollering from the class. They knew what he was doing, it was fine. Sure, maybe there would be repercussions from kissing a teacher but he could deal with that later. Dennis smiled, panicked, when he pulled away, stepping back completely from the open mouthed, wide eyed, shocked man in front of him.

'At least Mac got out without getting caught. God- you're such an idiot.'

"So, thats the plan. Now I'm gonna go... and- and show the plan to someone else. Bye."

With that he bolted out the room, ignoring the mixed applause from the rest of the room.

-

Mac had waited for him outside the school gates and was lead quickly to Dennis' Rover. He was laughing, they were both laughing about the whole thing, but Dennis' face was still bright red and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened back there.

"Thanks for getting me out of detention, how did you manage to distract him though?"

"Oh, I dazzled him with my... wits."

He chuckled again, looking out the window of the now moving car at the world around them. It was, surprisingly, a sunny day in Philadelphia and the sun beating down on them put Mac in a great mood. Looking over at Dennis also made his heart soar but he didn't want to think about that too much.

"Where're we going then?"

"You tell me, I'm just driving. Besides, I busted you out of there, you gotta return the favour and pick the date location."

"Oh so this is a date huh? Alright then... okay, turn right here. I know a place."

-

Mac definition of 'knows a place' turned out to be a miniature golf course and Dennis didn't know if he should be annoyed or thrilled. Obviously this was Mac's idea of a good time, he was grinning like an idiot.

"Okay your turn. Is it called that in golf? A turn?"

"This isn't quite the Master's, Mac. We can call them turns."

He nodded, looking around at the course. The game wasn't actually why they were here, it was just the way to get to why they were here, but he wasn't gonna tell Dennis that. Not yet.

"Hey, Dennis. Can I ask you a question?"

"Depends on the question."

"I just wanted to know really, like, why do you act the way that we do? Like, why do you make it so hard for anyone to get close to you?"

Mac took his turn, booting the ball all the way into the river before shrugging. 

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm still getting fucked over for shit I did last year and, like, the thing is, Mac, no one actually knows the real story. They're just going off what Adriano says. So yeah, all of /this/ is to avoid it happening again."

"Wait, backtrack there for a sec. What do you mean the real story?"

"Oh /come on/. Don't tell me you believe everything Adriano says."

"I /don't/ but like, I've heard about 10 different versions of the story by now. Which is true?"

Dennis sighed, hitting his ball into the hole before walking over to the next course. It was the windmill so he leant up beside it.

"Okay, work this one out then, Mac. Have you ever actually heard the name of this guy Adriano /walked in on/ me banging? Like, whose the guy?"

Mac thought about it for a second; shit- he didn't actually know. No one had ever mentioned it and he had never bothered to ask. So, he shrugged.

"Right? So, no one knows who this guy is or where it was but the only two parts of the story that are consistent is the fact that me and Adriano are both there."

It took a few seconds for it to dawn on Mac, his mouth dropping open in shock. Dennis- shit, Dennis and Adriano? No way, holy shit.

"You banged Adriano? Holy shit dude. When? Like one time or regularly? /Holy shit/."

"You are way too excited about this. Look, long story short it happened a few times before his dad found out, beat the hell out of him and then he spread the rumour to get back at me. Thats it. Now lets just play golf, alright?"

Mac was still in shock but not enough to stop his plan and now that they were at the windmill it could go forward. He put his hand on Dennis' arm, leading him around the back of the windmill.

"Better idea."

He pointed at the hatch before pulling a joint out his pocket, waving it around. It was alright, no one was around.

"Wow... weed or miniature golf... I wonder..."

Dennis grinned and waited for Mac to open up the flap, crawling through the space until they were both sitting in the body of the windmill. Obviously this place was regularly used; beer cans and condom packets littered the floor where they sat.

"Nice place."

"Right? Its real junkie, don't ya think?"

Mac looked away from Dennis then and started searching through his bag for his lighter. He could feel eyes on him, flicking over every visible part of his body but he decided not to comment. He was getting that tightness in his chest again anyway. 

After a few failed attempts he got the thing lit, taking a few long drags before offering it to Dennis. He took it, almost reluctantly, and Mac watched as he took the smallest drag... and coughed up half a lung. 

"Shit- you alright there?" 

"F-fine. Just... not used to it... is all."

Dennis managed to splutter that out in between coughs and Mac couldn't help but laugh. It was actually kinda cute; for all Dennis acted up he wasn't as tough as he thought. No where near as tough as Mac.

"Do you wanna shotgun it or something instead?"

"Whats- that?"

"I breath it in and then blow it into your mouth. Simple as really." 

Dennis simply nodded, passing the joint back to Mac and wiping his eyes. It had to be said, Mac felt a little nervous as he breathed in deeply, shifting and leaning over so that he was an inch away from Dennis' face. His heart was going a mile a minute and he kept his eyes down as he blow smoke into his mouth. Unfortunately, keeping his eyes down now just meant they were locked on Dennis' pretty, pink lips.

'Maybe it wouldn't be /that/ bad to just... like its not like anyone has to know... and like, pretty sure God cant see into this windmill. Its better to know you don't like something by doing it then to not know that you don't... or not. What?'

"Mac?"

"Hmm?"

"What're-"

Mac didn't let Dennis finish his sentence, he interrupted him instead by pressing his lips very gently against his. He was pretty sure he was having a heart attack anyway but when he felt a hand on his cheek and Dennis kissing him back, Mac was certain it had given up completely. One thing was for sure, he didn't hate this like he thought he would. He didn't hate it one bit.

-

At one point or another there was a loud knock on the body of the windmill, Mac pulling away from Dennis quickly to look at the source of the noise. Shit- he knew they had been making out awhile now but he didn't realise it had been long enough for the staff to notice that there were people in the windmill. He heard a giggle and turned back to see it was Dennis. Mac couldn't help but smile in return.

"I think we've been caught, dude."

"I think you're right. Come on."

After a minute or so of shuffling around and crawling they were out, then shortly escorted out of the miniature golf park. 

"That guy didn't have to be such a dick about us being in there though. I'm pretty sure they have hoards of teenagers going in that thing to make out with each other."

"He didn't seem to mind that it was two dudes though, that was cool."

"Maybe he didn't know."

"I think he /probably/ noticed the giant fucking hickey on my neck dude."

Dennis chuckled, opening his car door and getting in.

"Yeah... sorry about that."

Mac frowned.

"No you're not."

"You're right, I'm not."

The thing about all this was, Mac didn't mind. He didn't mind that Dennis was a guy or that they had kissed or that he actually really liked him, he didn't mind at all. He knew what this meant, it didn't take an idiot to know, but then again maybe he had known all a long. And maybe it was okay, really, because anything that felt that good and right couldn't be wrong.

At the same time as all of this, he was still being paid to do something.

"So prom huh?"

"What about it?"

"Well, I figured, if I'm going..."

He could see the smirk on Dennis' face without even having to look.

"And /you're/ going... we could, you know, go together."

"Are we talking carpool wise again?"

"No, we're talking date this time."

They pulled up to a stop light and Dennis turned to look at him, to really look at him. Mac did the same, looking right into his eyes.

"What about other people? They might..."

"Two dudes going to prom together? Nah, nothing gay about that."

"But it is gay."

That wasn't a question this time, just a confirmation.

"Well yeah, its kinda gay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im just taking a short break from this one at the moment until i can drag my concerntration back around to finish it. it will be updated some point soon but for now waiting is the name of the game. thank you for reading this far and check out my other works if you're interested. thanks!


End file.
